José Neves


José Manuel Ferreira Neves is a Portuguese billionaire and the founder of Farfetch, a global luxury fashion online platform.

Early life

José Neves was born in June 1974. He grew up in Porto, Portugal, where his grandfather owned a shoe factory. He studied economics at the University of Porto.

Career

Neves founded a software firm called Platforme for small fashion brands in 1996. His grandfather owned a shoe factory. In 1996, at the age of 22, he launched a footwear brand named Swear, and opened a store in London. The brand sold to other shops. He started a retail fashion store named b Store on Savile Row in London in 2001.
In 2008, Neves founded Farfetch. In June 2017, Farfetch sold a minority stake to JD.com, for US$397 million, prior to launching in China.
In September 2018, following the IPO of Farfetch on the New York Stock Exchange, Neves' stake in the company was valued at US$1.4 billion.

Personal life

Neves is married, and his wife and four children live in Guimarães, Portugal. Neves has an apartment in Clerkenwell, London, and travels widely for work.